Australian election: candidate profiles

Age:

Gillard – 48

Abbott – 52

Born:

Gillard – Barry, south Wales. Emigrated with parents to Adelaide aged five.

Abbott – London. Moved to Sydney with Australian-born parents before starting school.

Family background:

Gillard – Father worked as psychiatric nurse, mother at Salvation army shop.

Abbott – Father was an orthodontist

Schooling:

Gillard – Unley High, Adelaide (state)

Abbott – Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview, Sydney (private)

University:

Gillard – University of Melbourne

Abbott – University of Sydney, Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar)

Pre-politics career:

Gillard – Industrial relations lawyer

Abbott – Trainee priest, national newspaper and magazine journalist

Lives:

Gillard – Altona: working-class suburb on Melbourne's industrial fringe.

Abbott – Manly, Sydney – affluent northern beachside suburb

Marital status:

Gillard – Never married, no children. In a four-year relationship with former hairdresser Tim Matheison. They live separately.

Abbott – Married to Margaret, a childcare worker. The couple have three daughters.

Religious views:

Gillard – Atheist

Abbott – Devout Catholic who once trained to be a priest

Heroes:

Gillard – Nye Bevan, Welsh Labour MP and creator of the NHS.

Abbott – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian and anti-Nazi activist

Hobbies:

Gillard – Watching The Bill and supporting the Western Bulldogs Australian Football League team.

Abbott – Competing in triathlons, going to church

Harsh criticisms:

Gillard – Branded unfit to run the country by controversial Liberal senator Bill Heffernan because she was "deliberately barren".

Abbott – Once described as a "lame, gay, churchy loser" by his teenage daughter Frances.

What they say about each other:

Gillard on Abbott: "He's like a child stumbling towards a fire – you know he's going to burn himself. I sometimes feel like reaching out to protect him."

Abbott on Gillard: "On those rare occasions when she lets he hair down she can be a charming companion. And I've certainly enjoyed her company a couple of times in a social context, and I think it would be good to see more of that side of Julia."

Election catchphrase:

Gillard – "I promise to move Australia forward"

Abbott – "We're ready to govern"